Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with computer and Network

Wirless network utilization keeps dropping to zero - any ideas?

alrightokay — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:50:35 -0800

My google skills have failed me. My wireless network utilization is very low, or keeps dropping to zero. Other computers on the same network are just fine - what gives? I have a new Sony Vaio and I recently installed windows 7. About a month after the install I starting having internet connections issues - pages timed out, video loads poorly, etc. A virus scan in safe mode turned up nothing. Did an adware scan too - also clean except for a few cookies.

My GF's computer, which is on the same wireless network, is not having any issues at all.

Ctrl+Alt+Del > Task Manager > Network shows that my Wireless network utilization goes from 0% to a 3.2% to .2% - all very low and frequently dropping to zero - not sure if this is normal.

I pinged www.google.com and I got some poor results too: 4 packets sent, 3 received, 1 lost. Apprx round trip time avg was 43ms - but the result is not consistent - sometimes it's as low as 20ms but other times the "Request timed out."

Does anyone know what might be causing the problem?

Need help setting up AirPort on my Mac

Joseppi — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:52:14 -0800

I'm trying to set up an AirPort on my Mac and I'm having some issues. It's asking for OS X 10.4 and I'm running 10.5 but it still doesn't work. Any clue as to why this is happening? I'm trying to set up an AirPort on my Mac and I'm having some issues. When I try and install the software I get a message that says, "You cannot install AirPort on this volume. The version of Mac OS X on this volume is not supported." It's asking for volume 10.4 and I'm on 10.5. This is beyond frustrating as this is supposed to be such a simple process. Does anyone know what my issue might be?

Wireless network connection problem

Kat Allison — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:15:11 -0800

ARGH. Wireless connectivity problem. Laptop tells me I am connected with excellent signal strength, and yet I'm not able to load any webpages. So, I am in the process of moving. I got internet service connected at the new place, and my laptop (running Windows XP) connects to the internet with no problem when hooked up via Ethernet. So then I unhooked the wireless modem from my old place (where it had been working just fine with my laptop), and hooked it up at the new place.

My wireless network shows up in the list of available networks on my laptop; when I try to connect to it, I get the message that it is connected and signal strength is excellent. But -- it's not actually accessing the internet. I *can* connect with a neighbor's unsecured wireless network, but not with mine, even though every screen that relates to the wireless connection status tells me I'm connected.

Stuff I have tried with no effect:
--Rebooting.
--Checking all hardware connections.
--Disabling Windows firewall.
--Repairing the connection.

In "Network Connection Details" it says:
--Address Type: Assigned by DHCP
--IP Address: 192.168.1.100
--Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
--Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
--DHCP Server: 192.168.1.1
--Lease obtained: 10/8/2009 3:06:37 PM
--Lease expires: 10/9/2009 3:06:37 PM
--DNS Servers: 68.87.69.146
68.87.85.98
68.87.78.130

I have WPA security on the network, but the password or key don't seem to be presenting any problems.

It would probably help if I had a better grasp of how wireless networks work. But, based on this -- any ideas? Anything I could try?

Why can't the networked devices just get along?

edjusted — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:03:26 -0800

I'm trying to set up my parents' home network. The easiest way to describe it is with a diagram. They have a DSL router in a closet, and that's connected (ethernet) to mom's desktop pc. There is a wireless router (D-Link DI-524) that's also connected to the DSL router via ethernet. There is a printer connected to the D-Link via ethernet. And finally, dad's laptop connects via wifi. If the DSL router is connected to the wireless router's LAN port, mom can surf the web and print to the printer, but dad can't connect to the internet. (see the "lan port connection" diagram) If the DSL router is connected to the wireless router's WAN port, mom can surf the web but can't see the printer, but dad can connect to the internet. (see the "wan port connection" diagram) I've tried tweaking the D-Link's settings to both accept a DHCP address or have a hardcoded address, and also to pass out or not pass our a DHCP address to dad's laptop. What I can't seem to accomplish is: 1. mom can access internet 2. mom can access printer 3. dad can access internet 4. dad can access printer Any suggestions? Can I even do this with this equipment?

Internet Woes

Geppp — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:24:21 -0800

[ComputerFilter] Newly installed programs and updated programs can't connect to the internet. Any ideas? (Vista Home Premium) I've already tried adding exceptions to the Firewall, as well as disabling the firewall alltogether.

Firefox, along with a few other random programs work, but if I try to install a new program, or if I update a currently working program, it is no longer able to connect to the internet.

For example, I just tried installing Google Chrome, and it's not able to connect to the internet. Similarly with Spybot S&D and others.

Any input would be great. Thanks!

Is my hard drive opaque on a public network?

the sobsister — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:09:13 -0800

Wi-Fi security. How much of the contents of my a) iPhone or b) iBook can be "seen" if I'm on a public network? Particularly concerning the latter, I've never been clear whether, in logging on to network X--be it a free municipal net or my employer's "guest net"--I'm simply an inscrutable blip on a network or I'm making my hard drive an open book to anyone who cares to peek. Any insight would be appreciated.

FreeNAS Hardware Specs

tdreyer — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:07:38 -0800

I'm going to make a dedicated FreeNAS box. Looking for hardware suggestions. I am comfortable with assembling my own hardware, but I'm a little unsure of the kind of hardware I need. It's easy enough to get the top of the top hardware, but I figure I don't need the best of everything for a FreeNAS box, just something that can handle on-the-fly disk encryption/decryption, RAID, and the fileserving.

I would like guidelines as well as hardware reccomendations. Something like "get at least a dual core processor with xx Ghz" works just as well as "get the AMD Athlon xxxx."

For the hardware, I could use help with mobo, ram, and CPU. Basically, I want the minimum hardware specs to get the job done well (read: I'm cheap), but I need room for many large/fast SATA drives. I want to do RAID with FreeNAS, but i'm not sure if I need hardware RAID support on the mobo...

More info here.

As always, thanks!

Can't get new laptop to connect to wireless network

Kat Allison — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:57:56 -0800

Cannot get new laptop to connect to secured wireless network! Arrghh! The setup: Linksys WRT54G router; desktop physically connected to the router; old Fujitsu laptop with wireless connection that is working just fine; and brand-new Samsung N110 netbook that Will. Not. Connect.

The problem appears to be with security, since it *will* connect to public wireless nodes--and it will also connect to this router if I have security disabled. I'm not crazy about running an unsecured network, however.

I've been using WPA-PSK security. I have gone into the web interface for configuring the router settings, checked the WPA key, and typed it with great care into the relevant fields on the setup screens in the netbook, multiple times, with no success. I don't think it's a problem with me typing in the wrong key.

As noted, the old Fujitsu laptop continues to connect just fine with security turned on, so I don't think it's some pervasive problem with the router.

I've tried turning off Windows Firewall on the netbook--makes no difference. I've tried multiple instances of rebooting everything, and repairing the connection.

I tried all the steps listed at the Linksys Knowledge Base. When I physically connect the netbook to the router and check IP address, I get 192.168.1.103; desktop is same string ending in 100, Fujitsu laptop is same string ending in 101. When I ping the router from the netbook, no packets get lost.

Desktop and old laptop use Windows XP SP2, new netbook uses XP with SP 3; I can't think why this would make a difference, but I throw it out there.

I would be extremely grateful for any ideas or suggestions. Thanks!

Yet Another iTunes Question

GuffProof — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:44:09 -0800

How do I get iTunes to stop storing everything on the network server at work? Disclaimer- I'm hopelessly stupid when it comes to this stuff. Forgive me if this is eye-rollingly basic...

I've got iTunes on my office computer. I don't understand much about our company computer network (sorry) but I know that we each have a local C drive... and then there's the shared server, it seems to be named U. All 25 employees are listed as users.

When I installed iTunes last year, I paid no attention to where the program stored itself or my songs. I just discovered (to my embarrassment) that my library was stored on the shared server U drive in an iTunes folder.

Not wanting the entire office to see that "Panties in Your Purse" tops the HR manager's Most Played List, I deleted iTunes (via Windows Add/Delete Programs) and downloaded again, careful to set the C drive as its destination.

Under "Preferences" I also set the C drive as the destination for songs.

I cut and pasted the contents of the iTunes folder from U to C. Deleted the empty iTunes folder from U.

FAIL. It keeps coming back. Every time I start iTunes. I delete it again. It comes back again.

A quick snoop shows that I'm not the only U drive user with iTunes (I had no idea that we employed so many Michael Buble fans) but I'd really prefer to keep myself to myself here.

Again, preferences are set to C... and the properties of each individual song show that they are saved in C.

Any ideas? THANKS!

Users cannot connect on Windows Server 2003

panboi — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:39:41 -0800

I've been asked to look at a network that runs three machines (XP) which apparently stopped working: Users cannot connect to the server (Windows Server 2003) due to some connection error. I've been asked to look at a network that runs three machines (XP) which apparently stopped working on Monday. The power supply to the internet router also decided to stop working, then the server (Windows Server 2003 SP2) deciding that no machine could connect to it.

The server also fell over towards the afternoon with blue screen issues. I suspected hardware issues somewhere. I cloned the drive and replaced what appeared to be a glitchy video card.

So the server is now functioning OK - but still have the original problem. Attempts to access the networked drives bring up this specific error message: "This connection has limited or no connectivity. You might not be able to access the Internet or some network resources". Unplugging and reconnecting the network cables causes the PC to think for a while trying to assign an IP address but this then leads to the same error message.

It could be that something on the server setup has been corrupted, but I'm stumped as to how to solve the problem.

I need to get to PCs on separate networks to talk to each other.

PlayWithFire — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:05:02 -0800

I need to connect two computers that are located on separate networks. There are two things i'd like to be able to do: 1. Transfer files between the two computers. 2. Install Synergy, so that i can control both PCs with one keyboard and mouse. I can't install a second NIC in each PC, but i am willing to try maybe a USB NIC. Both PCs are running XP.

I want to have my cake and eat it too

lpctstr; — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:52:52 -0800

My computer has a wireless adapter (for internet) and an ethernet cable to a router (not internet-connected). How can I let it access the internet while also being able to access the lan through 192.168.1.X? I can only set it to access one or the other, but not both. If it's any help, I was able to get both connections working together for an hour (using the connection setup wizard), then lost it.

How to stop torrents at work?

numlok — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:13:20 -0800

I'm sure this question will not make me the most popular student at the dance, but is there a way to identify (via IP) machines running BitTorrent clients within an internal network (ie. work)? My company has around 50 employees, and the old, "Please don't torrent at work" doesn't seem to be doing much good anymore. It brings our email and web browsing to a near standstill, and dropping by the "usual suspects" is not only tiresome, but doesn't seem to find all the sources of traffic any longer. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Tell me about current NAS manufacturers and technology?

loquacious — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 04:53:34 -0800

Tell me about Network Attached Storage ( NAS )? In particular what current manufactuers should I avoid for a typical 1 terabyte (or greater) RAID array? I'm also interested in general information and pitfalls for NAS devices and implementations. Deployment is for a mixed platform small office - about 8 seats. Platforms are XP, Vista and OS X.

I'm assuming SAMBA protocol for shares. Usage is low to medium - the office needs a data/file server for storing and reliably sharing typical office documents.

They emphatically do not need an actual server. There's no forseeable upgrade path to an in-office Exchange server or domain controller or the like - this is handled by a remote office through VPN. I could build them a PC-based solution using something like FreeNAS but that would be overkill, and I don't want to introduce a possibly flaky desktop/server into their office.

What NAS models or manufacturers are considered the most reliable? Best support? Best value?

Much thanks in advance!

How do I enable simple file sharing on Server 2008 and stop my network from crashing?

Magnakai — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:15:12 -0800

How do I transparently share files from a Windows Server 2008 box to several XP computers? I want it to stop asking for a username and password when people try to access files. Also, can anyone point me in the right direction to solving this weird network issue I've been having? I've been assigned to run the IT stuff for the small business that I part-time for. They have four machines running Windows XP. One of them used to host all the office documents in a shared folder, enabling it to be accessed from across the network. They're connected via brand-new Cat 6 cables going into a wireless router, which is connected via another brand-new cable to a rather ancient 4-port ADSL modem.

They now have need of a dedicated server, and because of some incoming (in the next year) custom written software, it needs to be Windows Server 2008. I built them a low-cost machine with stable components and it seems to run fine.

I hooked it up to the network, connected to current share and transferred all the office files over. I then shared that directory. I created accounts that have the same username and passwords as the default accounts on the XP machines. I gave access to the office file directory to Everyone. At the top of that screen, it specified that if you selected Everyone, it wouldn't ask for a username or password. But it does!

When they were shared from the previous workstation, you could happily access them without entering a password. Is there any way to revert to this level of behaviour?

My second question follows from this - I tried accessing the folder from one of the comptuers on the workgroup, and I then entered Administrator and the password for the server into the request box that popped up. It connects absolutely fine. But once it's connected, at regular but random intervals, it seems to hang the workstation for a period of time and kill the network connection for the server. Other computers were able to access the network and connect to the internet fine. I can reproduce this problem Can anyone give me pointers to trying to diagnose this error, as obviously it makes the whole endeavour rather useless!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, and thank you for reading this long question.

Best practices for computer names on a large network?

joshrholloway — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:53:14 -0800

I need to come up with a conventional naming scheme for 200+ computers in my organization. Help! I came on board with my organization almost six months ago. When I first arrived, there was no standardized way to name computers. They vary from things that slightly make sense to things that make no sense at all. Now IT has decided to set forth a conventional naming system for at least all the workstations on our network, and we're kind of butting heads over what it should be.

We had actually decided on a convention about a month ago and began using it, but it quickly became cumbersome and we ran into some issues. The convention we were using is as follows:

aaabyyyz-xxxxxx
* aaa = three-letter code for the computer's location
* b = floor number of the location
* yyy = three-letter code indicating the OS of the computer
* z = version number of the OS
* xxxxxx = primary user's last name and first initial

So, for example, my computer under this system is named fpp1osx5-hollowayj. As you can imagine, we ran into issues on the Windows boxes with the machines and therefore our inventorying software truncating the NetBIOS names to 15 characters.

Some things we have considered are locations, floors, departments, OS information, user information, etc. We don't know what's best to include and what's most useful to us or even our end users. I know you don't work where I do so you can't come up with the perfect system for us, but I'd love to know what has worked for you in the past.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Fix my network connection

dagnyscott — Tue, 13 May 2008 12:20:18 -0800

I used to use a program called DU Super Controler to limit bandwidth to World of Warcraft and keep it from crashing my DSL modem. This doesn't appear to work with Vista. What will? Whenever World of Warcraft patches it crashes Speedstream modems. The only way I was able to get up and running before was using this program to limit bandwidth to WoW.

Also, one of the stock answers I keep seeing on the forums is to disable checksum offloading and changing duplex settings but I don't see those options available anywhere and the directions don't seem to acknowledge Vista.

Securing and encrypting a network?

jjsonp — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:09:29 -0800

General network and computer security: keyservers, PGP/GPG, encryption, etc...book/instructional recommendations? I am trying to come up with some constructive suggestions regarding how to improve and automate security protocols at work. I have some basic ideas but know very little about it from an implementation standpoint. I use PGP, GPG, and Zip AES to encrypt and decrypt individual files but that's the limit of my experience.

I'm wondering what the 'industry standards' are for something like having a non-networked computer acting as a keyserver, into which say I'd plug a USB memory stick (or 'smart card') each day, receive a random password, which would then allow me to login to a networked computer, on which everything is encrypted with something like GPG. And how effective/efficient are biometric/fingerprint scanners?

This is in a Windows environment...I'm reading about Microsoft's Encrypting File System right now, which sounds like it would work for encrypting folders...that's the sort of recommendation I'm basically looking for (since I don't know exactly what I'm looking for;).

Two, two, two computer questions in one!

Northwest — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:06:28 -0800

I have DSL but am continually prompted to dial-up for a connection. Plus, how do I learn to manage my wireless home network myself? I'm running XP Home on two computers with a DSL modem and a Trendnet wireless router. Internet works on the computer physically wired to the router, but, XP constantly prompts me to dial up for any new page I access. I'm sure it's an easy fix but this stuff still mystifies and frustrates me.

Secondly, I'm having problems keeping the upstairs wirelessly connected computer on the network. I lose access to the downstairs computer and thus, the internet. I would like to be able to share files, pictures, music and printers between the two.

Where could I find a simple "how-to" guide? Microsoft.com is written in Gaelic to me, many sites seem to assume I have more knowledge than I really do. A book or on-line site would be great.

Can older macs be made Airport Extreme Capable?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:47:52 -0800

Inherited an Airport Extreme Basestation with Gigabit ethernet and would like to enable a B&W 400mhz G3 and 400mhz G4 AGP to use this wireless network at the faster speeds. Is this possible? (this is anon because it's a gift to people who know me and read Askme) I know the G4 is Airport capable, but can it use an Airport Extreme Card at the Extreme speeds? Apple sells refurbished Airport Extreme cards on their site and was wondering...

Would A PCI card work better? If so, which? Or can these older macs successfully use a USB 2.0 wireless adapter?

On the wireless network they would be accessing a printer, other computers and the internet.

Go forth and dub creatively, O my nerd army!

TheNewWazoo — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:08:30 -0800

Name my new (home) server! Witty is better, obviously. I'm having a hell of a time thinking of a name for my new home server. It's a headless box with plans for future expansion that will basically be running test virtual machines, serving files/media, and providing remote access into my home network.

My current naming scheme is somewhat literal:
MackBook (my MacBook, which is the Mack)
TreeKllr (printer/print server, which kills trees)
BitchBox (an underpowered, unslung NSLU2 that's to be replaced)
Rizzouter (a DD-WRT'd WRT54G, as the router)
xbmc (modded xbox)
tivo (tivo)

...etc...

So what could I call it? Bonus points for obscure references. Feel free to also suggest new naming schemes that would lend themselves to quick interpretation of a device's function based on its name.

Why is my internet connection suddenly crap, on just ONE computer on my home network?

greendress — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:42:30 -0800

Why is my internet connection suddenly crap, on just ONE computer on my home network? I have cable internet from Time Warner (Road Runner), which I've had for 2 months. Their modem connects to my router, a LinkSys WRT54G, which I've had for a couple of years. We have four computers on the network - two desktops wired to the router, and two laptops that connect wirelessly. All run Windows.

Just in the last couple of weeks, the connection on my desktop (Windows XP) has been, intermittently, completely s***. I'm toodling along just fine, and all of a sudden everything slows to a crawl. Or just stops connecting at all for a while. A little while later (5 - 30 minutes or so) it'll be fine, only to do it again an hour later. (Times are estimates; there is no pattern that I can discern.)

The husband's desktop (also XP) will, at the same time, be just fine and dandy. We will try to load the exact same website at the same time, and he will get it in one second while mine will c...r...a...w...l along, often eventually giving up and giving me the "can't connect" error.

Tried firing up the laptops during times when I'm having problems, and they are also fine. It's just my desktop.

I use Firefox (latest version), but the problem seems to appear in Internet Explorer, too.

I sometimes have torrents downloading, and at first I wondered if this was causing a problem -- maybe Time Warner limiting my bandwidth or something -- but having one downloading or not doesn't appear to make a difference. I can not download anything for days, and continue to have connection problems multiple times per day.

I tried plugging my ethernet cable into a different jack on the router. No help.

I tried replacing my ethernet cable. No help.

Since all other computers on the network are fine, and since I can connect to the network (i.e. connect to my husband's PC), I'm assuming it's not the router. Also assuming it's not Time Warner, since all other computers connect fine.

I do not believe anything has been changed in regards to our network, my computer, my browser, etc. My husband doesn't fiddle with such things, and I cannot think of anything I have done or changed since we first moved here and got everything hooked up.

I'm usually a pretty good Google-sniffer, but I'm not coming up with anything helpful for this one. I don't have a clue what the problem could be.

What was that password again?

al_fresco — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:02:03 -0800

In Windows XP, is there a way to see the password that is stored in the system to log into a wireless network? In OS X, this is easy – one just goes to Keychain Access, looks up the entry, and by entering an administrator password one can see the given password. Is there a way to do this in XP? I'm not a Windows person, so don't know where to look.

This is for a client for whom I set up a wireless network over a year ago. She created the password and it's stored in her system, as she connects fine to the network. She now wants to get another computer onto the network. I guess I need to start saving clients' passwords.

'Network' management improvements for a small business needed.

wylde21 — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 07:28:55 -0800

Suggestions to improve 'Network' management for a small business? See for more details. I just started working for a small company and need some input on better system/equipment for the company "network". Everyone is using Windows XP operating system.

Current hardware:
- One wall-wart CAT cable highspeed internet connection into the office.
- One D-Link wireless router with the CAT connection inputed. The router is then CAT cable connected to (a) a ‘network’ printer (which is then shared by all the workers via wireless router), (b) a stand alone enclosed 250GB Netdisk harddrive (which is then shared by all the workers via wireless router), and (c) the older desktop computer described below.
- One older (Pentium 3) desktop system that is ‘hardwired’ into the D-Link wireless router. This system is the extra computer that is used as backup if someone leaves their laptop at home.
- Five newer (all Centrino) laptops that each worker brings home every night. Some of the workers wirelessly occasionally backup key files to the 250GB Netdisk harddrive, but the connection is so slow that it is done infrequently.

Current shared network:
- The above mentioned wireless connection to the 250GB Netdisk harddrive
- The above mentioned wireless connection to a shared printer
- The company has a service that hosts the company’s website, operates the email service, and also provides some drive space to store files. The service is a couple cities over, and those stored files are accessed via SharePoint. Unfortunately, SharePoint over our connection is horribly slow and does not seem to be a real option for common use.

How things currently work:
- Each worker maintains all current work on their individual laptops, with rare backups to the 250GB Netdisk harddrive (if in the office), or through SharePoint (if on the road).
- The in office wireless connection speed is slow. I am not sure if this is a limitation of the wireless (newer D-Link system), the number of connected laptops (up to 5), some combination, or something else.
- The way the 250GB Netdisk harddrive is set up (via wireless) is such that it hs to be mounted everytime the computer is turned of or leaves the office. This mount is often lost (not sure why), so the drive has to be remounted several times a day. The connection to the Netdisk harddrive is also slow….but this may be a fuction of the wireless connection, as opposed to the drive itself, being slow.

What I would like to have:
- Fast connection to the internet for all the office computers. Does this mean we have to run CAT cables all around the office and manually plug-in?
- A common drive(s) that everyone in the office can read/write to and have fast (as fast as connection to individual computer harddrives) connection to. Do I need to add a server to the office to do this, or can the current 250GB Netdisk harddrive somehow be hardwired to do this?
- I want to insure security of the system. I’m not sure if the current wireless arrangement does that. Can people outside the office pick up the signal, and if so, how do I secure it?
- I want to insure that all work is backed up on a regular basis, but to get everyone to do that will require making it simple (software suggestions?) and easy (faster network connection).

I appreciate your suggestions. Being a small company, costs are an issue. But to get the right system I am willing to push for needed improvements.

Quick fix iMac as monitor for another Apple.

Bengston — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:16:32 -0800

Is there any way that I can easily use my iMac Desktop (Current Intel Model) monitor as a second or primary monitor for my Powerbook using either the wireless network or a monitor adapter? Would using some sort of remote desktop allow me to utilize all the extra monitor space? I just want to use some software that I have on my 12" Powerbook on my friends much larger monitor that is unfortunately also attached to his iMac. Thanks.